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I am almost through the whole of Voyager and there is this one trope that is very prevalent in this series: (Almost) every time there is a distress call and the crew moves in to help, it is either too late (everyone's dead already) or the people they help later turn out to be evil.

I actually can't remember any time where they responded to a distress call where the people who sent the call actually turned out to be good and turned out to be what they appeared to be in the first place.

So my question is, did that ever happen?

So, TLDR: Did Voyager ever help people who fit this pattern:

  • They attracted Voyager's attention using a distress call
  • They turned out to be good (meaning, not an antagonist to Voyager, and conforming to Starfleet values)
  • They were who they appeared to be in the first place (no hidden identity/occupation/...)
Dakkaron
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    Don't forget the trope where the antagonists aren't really bad, they have good intentions but are going about things to the wrong way to save their planet, and Voyager must show them the error of their ways. – Z. Cochrane Nov 02 '18 at 12:45
  • I've edited the title to be a little closer to the question asked. I thought perhaps "Do the crew of the Voyager ever come to the help of someone who isn't dead or evil?" as an alternative....(?) – Valorum Nov 02 '18 at 19:22
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    Why must alien races conform to your Federation principles, you specist scum?!? – Omegacron Nov 02 '18 at 20:50
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    @Omegacron I guess, everything that is not Starfleet must certainly be bad, otherwise it would be Starfleet! Isn't that how it works? – Dakkaron Nov 02 '18 at 22:01
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    What about "help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope?" Doesn't that count as a distress call from someone good? Or am I getting confused again. – TimeTravellyParadoxySciFiSmeg Nov 02 '18 at 22:22
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    We viewers suffer from narrative selection bias: uninteresting eventless rescues happen very often in Star Treck, but only the interesting ones get an episode filmed about them. The interesting ones tend to include fake distress calls or so dangerous situations that rescue can't arrive on time. – Pere Nov 03 '18 at 16:38
  • @Pere that might be, but in the end, it feels a bit like lazy writing if, as a viewer, you can be certain what happens as soon as there is a distress call. I can't remember that being nearly as pronounced in Next Generation. – Dakkaron Nov 05 '18 at 09:33

2 Answers2

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In VOY: Prime Factors the crew answer a distress call from the Sikarians. They turn out to be extremely friendly, bordering on Risian.

In VOY: The 37's the crew answer a distress call and find various preserved humans. Despite a slight misunderstanding with the planet's inhabitants, they turn out to be entirely friendly.

In VOY: Lifesigns the crew answered a distress call from a Vidiian scientist. She turns out to be benign and doesn't attempt to steal their organs.

In VOY: Macrocosm the crew answer a distress call from a Garan mining colony regarding a medical emergency. When they arrive, the find that they're actually suffering a medical emergency.

In VOY: Unimatrix Zero a group of Borg drones request that the Voyager render them assistance (via Seven-of-Nine). They don't seem to have any ulterior motive other than wanting freedom from slavery.

In VOY: Nothing Human the ship responds to a distress signal from a wounded alien. Although it appears to have attacked Torres, it turns out that its unaware of the damage it's causing to her. "Federation values" is a tricky one with this one since we don't really learn anything about the alien but its comrades seem benign.

In VOY: Juggernaut the crew render assistance to a Nalon freighter. Although the crew have essentially brought it on themselves by dumping waste without a permit, they ultimately accept that they've done wrong and embrace Federation values of tolerance.

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Valorum
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    While I know full well the background, the comment that they found a scientist that explicitly doesn't attempt to steal their organs is still hilariously funny to me. "Captain's log! We met a vidiian scientist who was totally nice and didn't try to steal our organs, Faith in the galaxy restored!" – Ruadhan2300 Nov 02 '18 at 12:21
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    VOY: The Void they assist nice people (mostly), though no explicit distress call was involved. Does VOY: Unimatrix Zero count? In VOY: Warhead the machine wasn't entirely evil, either...just "conflicted". – Bobby Nov 02 '18 at 14:06
  • @Bobby - I discounted VOY: Warhead because the machine wasn't what it appeared to be (e.g. firstly they discovered it was a machine, then discovered that it was an WMD). I discounted VOY: Unimatrix Zero because everyone there turned out to be Borg (hidden identitites) and I discounted VOY: The Void because I can't find a single example of anyone actually asking for help. – Valorum Nov 02 '18 at 15:15
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    In Prime Factors, the Sikarians had a hidden agenda in that they were bringing in the Voyager to entertain them. – kingledion Nov 02 '18 at 16:28
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    @kingledion - Yeah, but this seems to be a cultural misunderstanding. They felt that the Voyager was in distress and they wished to alleviate it. There was no ulterior motive – Valorum Nov 02 '18 at 16:31
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    It's amazing how many times you go to rescue someone and they don't try to steal your organs. It's practically a trope. Although once when I was rescuing, I came fairly close to stealing a harpsichord. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Nov 02 '18 at 17:17
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    @Harper - Ah well, sometimes we all feel like purloining large plucked-string instruments. I once chanced upon a muselar in a market in Kathmandu only to realise it wouldn't fit in my pocket. – Valorum Nov 02 '18 at 17:54
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    @Ruadhan2300 I was thinking the same thing -- that's a really low bar, but probably appropriate given Voyager's experiance. – Barmar Nov 02 '18 at 20:59
  • Out of curiosity, how many times did they answer a distress call and it turned out malicious? – John Meacham Nov 03 '18 at 01:14
  • @JohnMeacham - A gazillion – Valorum Nov 03 '18 at 08:48
  • @Valorum Regarding Unimatrix, that is pure prejudice, though. Sure, they were drones, but they were forced to be that way and the beings inside Unimatrix were themselves and did not associate themselves with ethics and methods of the Borg. Also, everything was rather upfront about it. – Bobby Nov 03 '18 at 18:09
  • @Bobby - That's a fair point. – Valorum Nov 05 '18 at 12:00
  • @JohnMeacham I opened a question on that topic there: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/197973?noredirect=1 – Dakkaron Nov 05 '18 at 14:19
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The telepathic people from Counterpoint come to mind.

Although it isn't said how they came in contact with them, they were good people with no hidden motives.

Sava
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    I've reluctantly downvoted. These poor unfortunates don't conform to the question asked "attracted Voyager's attention using a distress call" – Valorum Nov 02 '18 at 11:11
  • It's alright, it is true that we've no idea how they attracted Voyager's attention. – Sava Nov 02 '18 at 11:15
  • This is what Neelix said in the episode to Janeway: – Deks Nov 03 '18 at 02:25
  • NEELIX: Oh, fine, more or less. They don't understand what all the fuss is about, but they're telepaths, Captain. If the parents are concerned or fearful the children feel it, too. You did the right thing. If we hadn't taken them off that freighter, they'd be in a detention centre by now.

    This implies Voyager found the freighter and rescued the telepaths which were clearly in distress. I don't think 'distress call' is needed as aliens in dangerous situations were previously classed as SF ships as 'distress'.

     – Deks Nov 03 '18 at 03:00
  • @Deks - Offering to render assistance and answering a distress call are two different things – Valorum Nov 03 '18 at 13:26
  • If they were in or near Devore space, then it's unlikely that they were sending out a distress call indiscriminately. And, of course, the issue is muddied by the contact from Kashyk, who claims to be requesting help, but is actually still working for the Devore. – RDFozz Nov 05 '18 at 17:30